Love's Blossoming
by Timber Wolf of Purity
Summary: When Team Dojo rescues Komaki when he was taken by the MBC for 'abusing' Marie. Kasahara and Shibazaki knew that Marie would be an asset and bring her along. The hearing-impared girl sets those ne'er-do-wells right and Komaki sees her as a woman for the first time. Will he tell her how he feels? Will Marie's life-long love finally be requited? KomakiMarie


_ This takes place after Komaki has been kidnapped and his location is discovered. Team Dojo brings Marie with them to rescue him. Also, this is based off of the manga. I love the anime, too, but the dialogue and story is slightly different. Enjoy!  
_

* * *

Marie trailed closely behind Kasahara, her folded hands tucked underneath her chin. Her lip gradually made its way between her teeth as she nervously chewed it. She couldn't help being worried about Komaki. Kasahara and Shibisaki had said that he was being tortured, but they had neglected to say it was only mental, not physical. Marie was trying to be brave, but she was frightened that her beloved would be covered in blood, cuts and bruises. She sincerely hoped he wasn't.

As they approached the door, Shibisaki pulled her aside and showed her phone.

_Wait outside the door until I bring you in._

Marie quickly pulled out her own phone and typed in a message in reply.

_Okay. But please hurry. I want to see him._

The long haired woman smiled and nodded. "Just wait a little bit."

Marie hugged herself and waited patiently until she would be summoned. Dojo, Tezuka and Genda quietly lined up in front of the door and as one, kicked down the door.

"**Okay, that's enough!**" Genda shouted, surprisingly loud enough that even she could hear it. "The Kanto Task Force!"

No one ducked down to avoid bullets, no one charged forward. They simply stood in what seemed to be shocked silence. Marie peered around the corner of the door frame and caught a small glimpse of Komaki. He was sitting in a metal chair with his arms hanging limply in his lap. She briefly wondered why he wasn't fighting back, but then she remembered that Kasahara had told her that he had been gone for at least three days. He was probably exhausted. Her heart broke for him.

"You…" she saw one of the men in black say. "You have no right to be here!"

She saw Genda's jaw working, but his back was to her and she couldn't catch everything he was saying. "We'll get … later. We brought… someone who… give… **better** confession. You …be thankful."

Shibisaki came up behind her and gently guided her forward by her shoulders until she was visible by all in the room. The first thing she saw fully was Komaki. He was staring at her, and his face was agape. His brown eyes were wide with fear and his mouth, which she had never seen in anything but a perpetual smile, was hanging open. His gaze flickered to where Dojo stood, in surprise.

"Komaki!" Genda shouted. "Fill us in. What are they accusing you of, anyway?" He looked back to his commander with his usual calm. Marie almost felt like smiling, but the urge died somewhere along the process of her brain telling her mouth what to do, when she heard Komaki's reply.

His head hung low as he enunciated, obviously for her sake, "Deliberately choosing a book whose main character has the same condition as her. They say it was callous and cruel."

Marie's jaw clenched. _That _was it? That was why they captured and tortured the only person outside of her family who c_ared_? The fiery rage roiling within her became too much. It needed an outlet. And she knew, in that moment, exactly what she needed to do.

"What do you mean by my 'condition'?" she shouted.

"She can talk?!" the men exclaimed in surprise. Komaki lifted his eyes from the floor and looked at her intently.

"I believe you don't know the difference between being deaf and sudden hearing loss. **How could you know if I was being abused?**" The men with the MBCtrembled. "I read _The Country of the Raintree _because Mr. Komaki said it was great, and I loved it! Who are you to think you know what I feel? I could totally relate to the heroine."

The blonde man's emotionless face slowly lightened up. Color returned to his cheeks and his eyes shone with admiration.

"You want to know who is harassing me? You're fishing for abuse… when there was none happening. Now _**you**_ are the abuser and you seem to be proud of it."

Now Komaki's trademark smile was there, right where she could see it. His cheeks were slightly gaunt from lack of food and water. He looked so tired, but there he was, smiling. She felt the tears burning at the corners of her eyes. She couldn't look at Komaki anymore. Marie looked down at her feet as she trembled with the rage and sadness and simply with emotional turmoil.

"Please…" she said, hopefully loud enough for them to hear. "Leave us alone…!" The curly-haired girl ignored all the people around her, all of the rules that she probably was supposed to follow, but didn't care to, ignored everything except for the man sitting in a flimsy metal chair ten feet away from her. Her beloved… Komaki Mikihisa.

Marie threw her arms around his neck and collapsed in his lap. She sobbed into his shoulder, and her large, warm tears quickly soaked his suit jacket. She faintly heard her own sobs, but she really didn't care at this point who heard her. She had nearly had her heart broken for the fourth time… for the _final_ time. Almost.

"I'm sorry I made you worry," he said into her left ear. "Thank you, Marie."

She sniffed back her tears and pulled back to look him in the face. "It **was** about me, wasn't it?" she asked.

_The Country of the Raintree. _

_ A story about a girl who falls in love and lives happily ever after._

Komaki's eyes grew wide again. The eyes are the window to the soul, they say. Most times, Marie noticed Komaki's eyes were shuttered. But this time… this time, his brown eyes were aglow with a wonder, akin to a child's. He stared at her for a few moments, then he smiled. It was that soft smile that he only bestowed upon her – her, his little Marie.

Even though she thought of herself as 'his Marie', his next actions caught her by surprise.

His long-fingered hand combed its way through her auburn hair, gently and… lovingly. He leaned forward and pressed his warm lips to her cheek. Marie's eyes widened. Her heartbeat quickened and she didn't dare to breath.

"Goodness…" he said. He pulled her into his chest, where she buried her face and cried. "I can't see you as a child anymore," she felt him whisper against her ear. "What am I going to do?"

The young woman smiled into his white dress shirt, trying to stop the tears from flowing. That was the first time… he had ever acknowledged her in the way she had longed for since she was in second grade.

When Komaki finally pulled away, she said as softly as she could, so others wouldn't hear, "I'm glad you're alive."

He laughed. "I'm glad I'm alive too. I wouldn't have seen you be so brave otherwise." She smiled as happily as she could. Soon, Dojo and Tezuka came over to help Komaki to his feet, and Kasahara wrapped a kind arm around Marie. Genda led them all into the large van they had arrived in. The men in black did nothing to stop them, only looking at their boots in shame.

"We'll drop you off at your home first, Marie," Shibisaki said, turning around in the front passenger seat. "Everyone else has to return to base, and Komaki needs to see the doctor to make sure he's okay."

Marie nodded and quickly texted on her phone,

_Thanks you all._

"You're welcome, Marie!" Kasahara smiled warmly, giving a pointed elbow jab to Dojo, but she wasn't sure what that was for, so she ignored it. The ride was quiet; no one seemed to feel like talking. Marie watched Komaki with adoring eyes, hardly getting over the fact that he was alive and it was because of her. Komaki watched her too with an equally adoring, whenever he wasn't dozing off from exhaustion.

"Alright, Marie!" Genda shouted. "We're here! Thanks so much for your help."

She looked away from a sleeping Komaki to smile at the commander, and each of the other Library Force members in turn. Marie gathered up her bag, checked her coat pocket for her phone and carefully got out of the van.

The sky was darker than when they had arrived to rescue Komaki. The stars were beginning to peek out and the sun was completely gone. The cool air blew against her bare legs and bit into her thin coat, chilling her entire body. She shivered and took a hesitant step onto the curb. She was overcome with the urge to say good-bye to Komaki, suddenly realizing one can never know when one will see their loved ones again. Marie paused, not really sure if she should act upon her sudden thought.

The young girl exhaled a cloud of white, then quickly turned around and poked her head into the van once more. Dojo was poking his blonde best friend in the arm, causing Komaki to startle awake.

"Marie is going home," she saw Dojo whispered. The man sat up abruptly, almost blearily and walked over to the van door. He knelt down in front of her and smiled. She smiled back, her large eyes shimmering with tears. An involuntary shiver racked her body. Komaki frowned.

"Here, take my coat. It'll keep you warm." He whipped off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders. While he was leaning close to wrap the coat around her, she leaned forward and kissed his left cheek, just as he had done for her. His eyes widened, but a smile remained. A blush dusted Marie's cheeks as he pulled back.

He pulled out his phone and quickly wrote a message. _Thank you for rescuing me, Marie. You're _my_ hero now._ Komaki smirked as she giggled. Without her consent, her arms wrapped around his waist and she gave him a big hug. The 27-year-old man returned her small embrace and kissed the top of her head.

She pulled away after a bit, the cold still blowing at her legs, and made her way down the sidewalk to her house. The van door closed and pulled away. She entered her yard's gate and made it all the way to her room without being intercepted by her parents; she had told them, after all, that she would be out reading books with Komaki, so they trusted him to take care of her.

Her phone vibrated in her coat pocket just as she was about to change into her pajamas. Curious about who would be texting her this time of night, and also mentally dismissing them since she wanted to think about how Komaki had kissed her, and she had kissed Komaki, not some foolish text-

_From: Komaki __Mikihisa_

_Will I see you at the Library any time soon? I'll be working there this upcoming Thursday and Friday. _

Marie grinned from ear to ear as she eagerly wrote up a reply.

* * *

Komaki was being wheeled into the infirmary in a wheelchair that his companions insisted he use so they wouldn't have to drag him around. He had told them that he could in fact walk on his own, but they didn't really believe him. Kasahara didn't anyway. Dojo just didn't want to fight the tall rookie.

The nurse on duty told him to sit on the bed and wait for the doctor to come. While he was waiting in the cold, sterile and dusty smelling room, he heard his phone ring, indicating he had a text. He flipped his phone open.

_From: Marie_

_I'll be there. I think I'll have finished all the books you gave me by then. :)_

The tall blonde man smiled. His thumbs quickly tapped out a reply. Right as he hit send, the doctor entered and he swiftly hid his phone from view.

"Alright, Mr. Komaki. Let's have a look at you and we'll send you on your way."

* * *

Marie was tucked underneath her covers and was about to turn her bedside lamp off when she felt her phone vibrate beside her.

_From: Komaki Mikihisa_

_Then it's a date! I look forward to it. See you soon, Marie._

The 17, almost 18-year-old girl felt her heart bubble over with happiness as she tucked her phone underneath her pillow and she drifted off into sleep.

* * *

Marie dreamt of warm embraces, books and gentle hands combing through her hair.

Komaki dreamt of delicate embraces, shimmering doe-eyes and soft curly locks running through his fingers.

The next morning, their family and friends noticed how happy and carefree both seemed. Neither felt like giving an explanation.

They both looked forward to Thursday and Friday.


End file.
